Are Low End Drums a Waste of Time?

Everybody has to start SOMEwhere! If you have the financial means, or know that you’re going to stick with it long-term, then go ahead and start with a better kit. If you don’t have much money, or don’t want to spend a lot, or are just looking for a junker kit, or don’t know if you want to stick with it, or will be setting up in a damp basement, or are buying a kit for a child, or you are green and don’t know any better…ANY of these reasons are valid for buying a low end kit.
 
Why do people worry so much about what others do? Who cares?
it's a one-part of a forum discussion
rarely does a guy in the back jump up and say "who cares!!"
unless he's found himself down the hall in the wrong room Jimmy
other than that I don't know what you're talking about ; )
 
Because eventually you will find they are not as great as you thought.. Unless you just don't care that much..
I love them for a few reasons:

I repair & restore drums, so I need them to experiment on.

I'm a bar-basher guy with very little budget for boojie kits beyond, say, the Gretsch Catalina line.

99% of those I know are like me money wise and play what they can afford. But they also piecemeal better accessories over time to make that "low-end" kit a lot better than it was out of the factory. I speak from experience on this one as my Catalina Club Rock kit is probably more in the upper range now than it was when it was out of the box. (y)
 
Technique > drum cost

Proper heads and tuning and with few exceptions due to REALLY poor construction. - something I have yet to see on a set that is *truly* a 'low end kit' and not a toy.

Problem is that low end kits tend to target newer players who tend to have less $...and newer players don't know better...so the industry wants to provoke greed and mis-information to get the player to buy-in to a 'higher quality' set before they figure it out.

If you are touring and your people(or yourself) are not gentle, the less shock absorbing construction might cause issue as it will take more punishment.

Never scrimp on things like heads, sticks(strikers), stands, pedals, cymbals, electronics and insurance.
 
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Infinite search for confirmations too.
I think it is far simpler, though just as potentially inaccurate, to say "an attempt to improve one's self"....but our experience flavors our lenses.(oohh..synesthesia metaphore!)
 
There is a skill set to making music on a beater kit. And playing a crappy kit for years and building your skill level gives far more appreciation for a quality instrument for what you demand in a musical situation.

Not sure what is wrong with Zildjian As other than the inconsistencies and particular eras but there are some really great ones. And would not catergorize Acros or SCs as low-end either, more like good value….and I’m pretty snobby but I like my acro honk, so funky and sensitive that sound like nothing else .

My main beef with SCs is that they don’t stay in tune well so hardly a great candidate for live playing like that other video mentions. It does feel cheap too but dialed in they sound a lot better than any entry kit I heard growing up. If you are gigging in sketchy places, this maybe the kit to bring then…but is it really worth playing it?
 
I think it is far simpler, though just as potentially inaccurate, to say "an attempt to improve one's self"....but our experience flavors our lenses.(oohh..synesthesia metaphore!)
What I was trying yo say (with my limited non-native english) is that sometimes people buy cheap stuff and brag about it saying that is way better than the expensive stuff, as well as some people who buy super expensive (or vintage) stuff brag about how much "mojo" and "warmth" their kit has. People look for confirmations, especially after they've spent some money on something they wanted.
Reality is... you can find good products in all ranges.
 
I hate to be this guy, but if you can't make music happen with a set of stage customs, an acrolite, and some As, the gear is NOT the problem. I understand wanting different gear-- I don't currently own any of those products. But I HAVE owned all of them and have made some high-quality music on all three, as have many, many others.
 
I hate to be this guy, but if you can't make music happen with a set of stage customs, an acrolite, and some As, the gear is NOT the problem.
Sure, but this is the sister thread to 'are high end drums a giant waste of money?'
The key phrase for both discussions is all things being equal.
Given that you have a budget, given that you know how to tune drums, given that you are at least a musical sounding player.
You can play amazing on a $200 guitar, but most people enjoy playing something a bit more expensive, arguably better made, maybe with some history attached.
You can play the same song on a mid-priced Yamaha kit and sound good, but I wouldn't take one on a major tour or high pressure recording session. For some that 5-10% gain is worth the cost. NONE of which makes lower end drums a waste of time, which is what I said three pages ago. Play what you can afford and what you enjoy playing, whether that's an $800 drum kit or an $8000 drum kit.
 
Sure, but this is the sister thread to 'are high end drums a giant waste of money?'
The key phrase for both discussions is all things being equal.
Given that you have a budget, given that you know how to tune drums, given that you are at least a musical sounding player.
You can play amazing on a $200 guitar, but most people enjoy playing something a bit more expensive, arguably better made, maybe with some history attached.
You can play the same song on a mid-priced Yamaha kit and sound good, but I wouldn't take one on a major tour or high pressure recording session. For some that 5-10% gain is worth the cost. NONE of which makes lower end drums a waste of time, which is what I said three pages ago. Play what you can afford and what you enjoy playing, whether that's an $800 drum kit or an $8000 drum kit.

Yeah, I think we're in agreement on all of this. I'm just pretty skeptical when someone throws his feather boa over his shoulder and says, "I can't make my art under these conditions!" when he's got a perfectly serviceable kit in front of him. A Stage Custom kit with an Acrolite and a set of As should be a setup any decent drummer could drive a band with.
 
Totally.
I've played a lot of terrible drum kits. Not because I wanted to but because we had a show booked in some far away land and that was what delivered.
The worst kit I ever played was at a resort in Egypt. It was completely shot, the hardware was kind of held together with string and gaffa.
The heads were ancient and heavily pitted. This was also a two hour show that demanded quite a bit of musicianship.
The band leader said he would blow out the gig if I said the drums were unplayable. It was a close thing but I had to admit they were just about playable, especially as 12 of us had flown out the day before and stayed in a local hotel, just to play the show.
I got through it, but it was no fun. I got nothing back from the drums, it was just like hitting cardboard boxes that were constantly moving.
 
I've played "low-end" and "high-end" kits on "Mustang Sally" and the song sounded the same both ti
Yeah, I think we're in agreement on all of this. I'm just pretty skeptical when someone throws his feather boa over his shoulder and says, "I can't make my art under these conditions!" when he's got a perfectly serviceable kit in front of him. A Stage Custom kit with an Acrolite and a set of As should be a setup any decent drummer could drive a band with.
Go fo it!724bdb42b503cd769a799c8e30e4149c--tin-cans-craft-ideas.jpg
 
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i started out on a low end set with some decent heads and semi-decent cymbals, did me numerous rehearsals and gigs when i was teenager, only reason i stopped using them was because they got damaged (this was before dopey me though about buying drum cases/bags).
 
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